We Take Safety Seriously
April 12, 2008
The weather was gorgeous today. The kids asked if we could go on a bike ride. Miles was mad when I told him that he could not ride his tricycle on the road.
But once I told him that he could wear his helmet while we walked, he cheered right back up. I guess when you are three wearing a helmet is cool.
Also thank god he doesn’t have a two wheeler bike yet. My daughter decided half way through the ride that it was “Tooooooo haaaaaaaarrrrrrrd.” And she was “Toooooooooo tiiiiiirrrrrrrrred.” I ended up pulling her on her bike most of the way home, all the while muttering empty threats under my breath about how she will never ever again ride her bike on the road. And how if she doesn’t stop whining I will toss her bike into the woods and leave it there for the bears to use.
If I had two kids on two bikes to deal with, I am not certain that I wouldn’t have just left them there on the side of the road to fend for themselves.
I know you are all thinking, “What how could that angelic looking child possibly behave in a way that would anger you so? You horrible, awful, undeserving mother.” But you are imagining this face:
When the face that I am dealing with looks more like that of Linda Blair right before the pea soup came flying out of her mouth:
I see the future. Hold me.
I have no idea about his fashion choices. Clearly he does not believe that spring is here to stay and wants to be prepared with boots should a freak snowstorm arise.
And really he might just have the last laugh.
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Don’t you hate when an activity that is supposed to be fun turns into the Death March on Bataan?
April 12th, 2008 at 11:32 pmDon’t ya just love how quickly they can go from pleasant to pea soup?
I too find that I can get my kiddo to do just about anything if I tell her that she can wear her helmet. I’m glad she likes it!
April 13th, 2008 at 12:07 amMan, I love kids, but then again, I only have nieces and nephews! As always, your children are adorable.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:13 amReally great photo’s… and yes, the pea green soup really looks like it was about to fly
April 13th, 2008 at 1:28 amGreat pictures…I’ve been checking out the camera you use at my local Costco…praying for price drop!
April 13th, 2008 at 1:58 amThat he can pedal on those boots is pretty amazing.
April 13th, 2008 at 6:56 amWe can’t quite figure how to dress either, the weather is weird.
Freak snowstorms in April? For sure, no problem! Just move to the UK… we’re good at freakish, frankly quite stupid weather at all times of the year!
(ref: http://flickr.com/photos/globaljen/sets/72157604475747795/
April 13th, 2008 at 7:25 amThe two contrasting pictures of your daughter made me laugh out loud!
I guess when you have seven children, it’s physically impossible to “helicopter” them. I have just one, three-years-old, and I still make her hold my hand if we’re on the street. It’s not super-busy, but people FLY on it.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:32 amThe weather was beautiful here yesterday too. We were outside getting some yard work done, enjoying the sunshine. Today it’s supposed to be crappy and cold with “precipitation”. Your son just might be better prepared than the rest of us.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:41 amI posted pictures of one of my three year olds wearing her bike helmet. While eating supper. So yes, at that age helmets are cool to wear, anywhere.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:19 amMy three year old LOVES these pictures of your children riding their bikes. Especially the hands free one. You might try raising the seat on your daughter’s bike and see if that helps. It made a big difference in my long legged child’s ability to ride.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:27 amHe should come live in Colorado! We really do alternate mid-60’s and snowy days in the spring. My personal favorite is bright sunshine and graupel (snow pellets) at the same time. And, our young people’s fashion choices tend to mix shorts and sweatshirts or even parkas, and somehow many children think that if you wear socks under your Crocs, that equals snow boots.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:33 amLOL. I have a 3 year old boy who frequently insists on wearing his boots to ride his bike. Good to know that he might never stop!
I am all-too-familiar with the Linda Blair face too.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:34 amoh I am well acquainted with the Linda Blair face!
April 13th, 2008 at 8:56 amSeriously, I would frame that photo…!
He’s so free in that last photo. Somehow deciding whether to pay the gas bill or the electric bill on time isn’t quite the same as taking my hands off the handlebars and throwing them in the air. That’s why I love your blog so much, you really capture those childhood moments in your photos and your writing.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:00 amI was looking at some old photos last night after a bit of de-cluttering and I had one in my hand of Michelle, right before she made that Linda Blair face. You can see her thinking about just how to do it - and do it really well. I’m sure I’ll find the face itself today when I go through all of the old photos.
And, LOVE the orange snow boots and the no hands bike riding. He’s fabulous.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:10 amOoh! I get that face, too. Complete with throwing the bike on the ground after falling over, kicking it and screaming cries of “Stupid bike! I HATE that bike! I hate biking!”. You know, because falling over was the fault of the inanimate object and not her own for turning too sharple or trying to pick flowers while still straddling said object.
We LOVE going biking with her!
April 13th, 2008 at 1:16 pmTurning too sharply, even.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:17 pmI’ll let you in on my little secret: I used that face on my parents for years.
Erm….many….years. Shall I show you the face of me moving in to my residence in first year? No?
But I’ve been told my adorableness made up for it. And I’m pretty nice now. I hardly need to bring out that face anymore.
*sweetly grins*
April 13th, 2008 at 1:29 pmWaking to snow this morning, I think he may be on to something. And as for that Linda Blairish face, could I borrow her the next time I have to deal with my shrewish neighbor?
April 13th, 2008 at 2:13 pmChris, how have you gotten this far without a tagalong for the kids on bikes? Really, I know you’re not shopping this year, but it might be a worthwhile investment. One older kid on the front, one smaller kid on the back (with the always necessary helmet, of course), and you’re good to go. Of course, I won’t tell you about how my #3, when he was a 5 yr. old, would stand up on the seat to “bike-ski” behind me when I couldn’t see him. Really, you don’t want to know!
Enjoy the face - wait ’til you see the 12 yr. old version. It’s why god invented cocktail hour.
April 13th, 2008 at 2:32 pmChris says: I can barely pedal my own ass around, forget about two kids too.
great pics & I do think 3rd olds love helmets. my 2.5 year old got a helmet yesterday at target & wore it most of the day. She couldnt understand why she couldnt wear it for nap.
April 13th, 2008 at 3:13 pmYou totally just described my daughter–complete with the face. We just took our first bike ride tonight and she actually did pretty well. I’m hoping she’ll have more stamina and maybe a bit less drama this summer.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:34 pmSugar and spice and everything nice…hah!
The second picture of your daughter could be captioned:
“If looks could kill…on training wheels”
April 14th, 2008 at 2:06 amHi! Just found your site- I totally get the good/evil in three seconds issues- I usually happens at least once with my 4 year old and at least 10 times with the teenager.
One hint though (from a bike person), put the seat up on her bike and she won’t be working so hard to pedal it… it appears to be sort of low.
On a side note- love the helmet!
April 14th, 2008 at 10:18 amChris, you misunderstand — YOU don’t haul the little ones around, those teenage and almost teenage boys do — the only reason we keep the large ones around is because they are useful, right? Your job is to take pictures and occasionally cover your eyes when the do dangerous things, then write about it for our amusement.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:40 pmActually, I was thinking bears prefer uicycles but I suppose a two-wheeler will work. I’m planning a bike pulling…I mean riding…weekend myself.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:41 pmOh that Linda Blair face is CLASSIC!
April 14th, 2008 at 1:41 pmOh Dear - is the Nikon okay after that scathing look?
April 14th, 2008 at 4:16 pmI am just so very happy to see that another momma was getting that look this week. I was afraid it was just me and my oh-so-lovely 5 year old.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:54 pmHa! I too know that face. I just assumed it was because I am such a bad mother. Example: I bought her a bike. I bought her a helmet. Except I didn’t take into account that her head is enormous. The helmet didn’t fit and I never got around to replacing it (we only ride in the yard). She never knew the joys of wearing a helmet everywhere because it is cool. Now she is 4 the moment is past.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:00 pmOh, and then I got frustrated with her for “not making an effort” when she claimed the bike was too hard to ride. Imagine my shame when I realised the back tyre was flat.
I took my daughter for a bike ride and she whiiiiiined and scowled like that the whole time…. and it turned out her bike tires had deflated over the winter. Whoops. What do I know from the art of bicycle maintenance.
April 16th, 2008 at 3:48 pm